My blogging buddy Bill (of Integral Options Cafe) has recently reacted to Jonah Goldberg’s views on patriotism. Here’s what Bill has to say:
"Goldberg seems to think we are already a great nation. But has he ever
lived in poverty, barely getting by with enough to eat while making
minimum wage? Has he ever been a minority struggling with intolerance?
Has ever been a woman whose right to determine the fate of her own body
is continually threatened and reduced? Has he ever been arrested for
"driving while black"? Has ever had to join the military to have any
hope of paying for college and then be sent to fight a war entered into
through lies and manipulations of the American public? Has he ever had
to worry there won’t be any Social Security when he retires? I could
go, but I’m sure you get the idea." [read more]
And here’s an excerpt from Golderg’s article.
"Definitions of patriotism proliferate, but in the American context
patriotism must involve not only devotion to American texts (something
that distinguishes our patriotism from European nationalism) but also
an abiding belief in the inherent and enduring goodness of the American
nation. We might need to change this or that policy or law, fix this or
that problem, but at the end of the day the patriotic American believes
that America is fundamentally good as it is." [read more]
I don’t resonate with Goldberg’s view on patriotism either. It’s too limiting and too ethnocentric for my taste. Maybe because I don’t identify as a liberal or conservative. Maybe because I didn’t grew up in the U.S. Maybe because I didn’t get my education here. Maybe because I’m not well-versed in American political history as "real" Americans are. Maybe because I don’t care too much about politics. Or maybe, all of the above.
But I do have a concept of loving a country and embracing its ideals. I may not wave flags or put my right hand over my heart while singing Star Spangled Banner, but I love (the idea of) America just the same. Otherwise, I won’t choose to be a naturalized U.S. citizen.
Fareed Zakaria articulates my point more succinctly.
"…every now and then I get an angry note from someone who adds with ferocious pride that he is a native-born American ("and proud of it!" the last such missive thundered). The idea is that with my "foreign-sounding" name I could not understand the true patriotism of a son of the soil. Actually, it’s the other way around. Native-born Americans don’t understand an immigrant’s love of country. "After all," I’ve thought of writing back, "what did you do to become an American, other than happen to be born here?" For us immigrants, becoming American was a choice, marked by sorrowful partings and tough new beginnings.
"What keeps an immigrant going is faith in his new country. This might not always look like patriotism because it doesn’t take the familiar forms–Fourth of July picnics, the fluttering of the Stars and Stripes. Instead it’s likely to show itself in a quiet dedication to work, family and friends. But this is the oldest form of American patriotism–a belief that in this New World you can make your own new world."
Exactly.
Obama may have a patriotism problem for Goldberg. Maybe Goldberg is right from the perspective of his fellow conservatives who look at the world the way like he does. But I hope that Goldberg doesn’t forget that there are millions of immigrant (naturalized citizens) voters out there who probably don’t care what he is arguing about.
For me, I don’t care whether Obama or McCain wear their lapel pins or wave the U.S. flag in front of the camera every time they make a public appearance. That kind of shallow display of patriotism is easy. Anyone can do that. I care more about the issues. I care more about the candidate whose intellect appeals to me and who shares my values. I would guess that’s also true for millions of voting immigrants in America. We immigrants vote with issues that are important to us. We vote with our guts. For better or for worse, like all voters, we vote with our political brains.
So, does this make me a liberal or a conservative? Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. I’m an immigrant who sees America as a glass half-full, who believes that America should recapture its greatness by constantly addressing its national problems, as well as its image problems around the world. The day that we become complacent that America is "good as it is", is the day that stagnation and collapse begin.